Morneau, Twins edge Royals in KC
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2009 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Morneau continued his hot hitting, homering for a third straight contest, as the Twins edged the Kansas City Royals, 2-1, in the middle portion of a three-game series.
Michael Cuddyer provided the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, as Minnesota won for the fourth time in six games.
Scott Baker (6-6) threw 111 pitches and lasted five innings to get the victory. The right-hander surrendered five hits and a run to win his fourth consecutive decision over his last six outings.
Joe Nathan continued his amazing success against the Royals, fanning two batters in a perfect ninth inning to log his 20th save of the year. Nathan has a career 0.75 ERA against the Royals and has converted 32 of his 35 save opportunities against Kansas City. Those 32 saves are his most against any opponent.
Brian Bannister (5-6) gave up six hits and two runs -- one earned -- while fanning six against one walk over seven innings for the Royals.
Mike Jacobs knocked in the lone run for Kansas City, which had a two-game win streak broken.
The Royals were held without a run for the final eight innings. David DeJesus led off the bottom of the first with a double and later scored on a Jacobs base hit to center.
Morneau homered to right field with one out in the fourth. It was his sixth RBI in the last three games. He's hitting .313 this season.
Kansas City loaded the bases in the fourth, but Mitch Maier popped out and Tony Pena struck out on a foul tip to end the threat.
In the sixth, Joe Mauer led off with a single and Morneau then reached base on a throwing error from first baseman Billy Butler. That sent Mauer to third, and two batters later Cuddyer lifted a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Twins then got great defense in the bottom of the sixth to maintain the lead. Mark Teahen doubled off reliever Bobby Keppel with one out and Alberto Callaspo walked. After Miguel Olivo struck out, pinch-hitter Jose Guillen hit a grounder, but shortstop Brendan Harris made a great stop and completed the force play at second to end the inning.
Keppel retired the side in order in the seventh, but Jose Mijares gave up back-to-back two-out singles in the eighth. Matt Guerrier then induced Olivo into a force play to end the frame.
Game Notes
The Twins bullpen has allowed just two runs in 22 innings on this current road trip...The teams combined to go 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position...Minnesota won seven of nine clashes with the Twins at Kauffman Stadium last season, taking all three series between the clubs as the visitor.
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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